East Buchanan beats Marceline to win Class 1 title

East Buchanan scored a touchdown in each of the first three quarters to pull away for a 21-7 victory over Marceline in the MSHSAA Class 1 title game. The championship was the first for the Bulldogs after finishing as the runner-up back in 2004 — falling to Marceline, incidentally. East Buchanan had been close to returning twice, falling in the Class 2 quarterfinals in 2014 and then in the Class 1 semifinals in 2017. Both of those trips came under the guidance of former coach Kevin Bryan, who retired after the 2019. Bryan died of cancer in March. The team wore a sticker with his likeness on the back of their helmets this year. East Buchanan finished the year 14-1, the lone setback was against rival Mid-Buchanan in the regular season. The Bulldogs avenged that loss in districts, knocking last year’s state runner-up out of the postseason. Marceline was 12-2 this year but only one loss to a Missouri team — East Buchanan. In Week 3, Marceline lost to Quincy (Ill.) Notre Dame. <strong>Players of the Game</strong> Trevor Klein, RB/DB, East Buchanan, 2024 The sophomore accounted for two of the three touchdowns for the Bulldogs, with a 5-yard run in the first quarter and then an 8-yard jaunt in the third quarter, which made it 21-0. East Buchanan ran for 233 yards on the ground and Klein accounted for 169 of those yards, averaging 6 yards a tote. He also added three catches for 26 yards. Klein finished the year 1,690 yards and 28 touchdowns on the ground and 399 yards receiving and two scores. On defense, he had two pass breakups against Marceline. Klein had 61 tackles and tied for the team lead with five interceptions this year. Cru Conaway, RB/FS, East Buchanan, 2022 The phrase giveth-and-taketh away was very fitting for the senior, who came up with a big play after having a tough play in the fourth quarter. While carrying the ball, Marceline’s Hunter Nelson knocked the ball out and [player_tooltip player_id="121574" first="Caleb" last="Stallo"] picked it up at the 15-yard line. That gave the Tigers, down 21-7, a chance to pull within a score and flip momentum. Instead, Conaway intercepted a pass by Marceline quarterback Jacob Stallo at the 1-yard line on 4th-and-10 from the 15. The Bulldogs then pieced together a 6 minute-drive that ended with 8 seconds on the clock to seal the win. Conaway ran for 68 yards and a 1-yard touchdown in the second quarter. On defense, he had four tackles and a pass breakup to go with the pick. He finished the year with 129 tackles and his fifth interception tied him for the team league with Klein. Jacob Stallo, QB, Marceline, 2022 Though he didn’t throw for a touchdown, Stallo accounted for a bulk of the offense for the Tigers in the finals by throwing for 181 yards. Marceline finished with 266 yards of total offense as the Bulldogs’ defense shuttered the running game. Stallo had 43 yards of passing on the final drive of the first half as he tried to get the Tigers in position to score down 14-0 but had an incomplete pass as the clock expired. Stallo completed passes of 34 and 27 yards but neither of those happened on drives that ended in scores. Stallo threw for 2,147 yards and 16 touchdowns this season. Jack Archdekin, LB, East Buchanan, 2023 The junior racked up 12 tackles and broke up two passes in the state championship game. He came up with a big tackle early in the game, after the Bulldogs went up 7-0, he came up with a tackle on 4th-and-1 near midfield to force a turnover. Archdekin finished the year with 90 tackles, 11 sacks, one interception, two forced fumble and two fumble recoveries. Hunter Nelson, RB/LB, Marceline, 2022 Nelson accounted for the only points for the Tigers by scoring on a 1-yard run late in the third quarter. That was his 18th touchdown on the ground this year, but he didn’t have his typical game thanks to the East Buchanan defense. Nelson had 15 carries for 22 yards, below his 112 yards per game average headed into the finals. Nelson’s final numbers on the ground this fall was 1,369 yards. On defense, he had seven tackles and forced a fumble. His final defense numbers included a team-high 107 tackles and four forced fumble, second on the team.